Preservation of McKeesport's Penn-McKee Hotel at issue
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Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation may help with the preservation of the Penn-McKee Hotel, McKeesport Heritage Center representative Jason Togyer told McKeesport Council last night.
The problem is that no one will take ownership of the building, Mr. Togyer said.
In October, the building was designated to receive a historic marker by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. It had been nominated by the Battle of Homestead Foundation and the McKeesport Preservation Society.
The steel frame building has concrete floors and a concrete roof, and was being eyed by McKeesport Redevelopment Authority, which hoped to acquire it and use it, but the group was blocked last year by a lawsuit filed by McKeesport Preservation Society.
"The process is now stopped," Mr. Togyer said. The McKeesport Heritage Center "doesn't want to buy the building, we cannot afford to buy the building."
The building ceased being a hotel in 1980, and operated as a nursing home until 1992. It has been vacant since then and has had its significant interior architectural elements stripped by looters.
In April 1947, freshmen congressmen John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon had a 90-minute debate on labor law at the hotel, which was McKeesport's finest hotel at the time. The men debated the proposed Taft-Hartley Act, which ultimately became law and curtailed some union activism.
The unveiling of the historic marker and a symposium on the debate is planned for April 21, the 65th anniversary of the debate.
First Published February 1, 2012 5:07 am
